Razprave in gradivo, Ljubljana, March 1986, No.18 
Fatmir Fehmiu UDC 376.744(497.115) 
Faculty of Law 
University of Kosovo 
Pristina, Yugoslavia 
EQUALITY OF LANGUAGE, ORAL AND WRITTEN, OF THE NATIONS AND 
NATIONALITIES IN THE SOCIALIST AUTONOMOUS PROVINCE OF KOSOVO IN 
THE FIELD OF EDUCATION 
In December 1944, immediately after the Liberation, SAP Kosovo 
had a 90% illiteracy rate.~ The Albanian nationality was in the 
worst position since, of the entire population, 90% were 
illiterate. 
This heavy social wound to the nationality of SAP Kosovo was the 
result of the centuries of Ottoman-Osman occupation, of the rule 
of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and of the fascist occupation, all 
of which dictated inequality, socio-national discrimination and 
oppression. 
In opposition to this, the new revolutionary government of the 
working people of Yugoslavia gave their attention to the 
education of the wider masses in their own language. This is 
confirmed by the organised social battle against illiteracy, 
various forms of education and the professional qualification of 
the working people for the needs of the economy and social 
activities, and the creation of schools or departments in 
Albanian, which did not exist during the period of old 
Yugoslavia, in Serbo-Croatian, which was forbidden at the time of 
the fascist occupation, in Turkish, which was begun in 1951,~ and 
in Romany, which was begun in 1984. 
The organised activity of the revolutionary forces and the first 
results in the field of literacy for the inhabitants of SAP 
Kosovo in the lamguages of the nations and nationalities date 
from December 1944, when the first literacy courses were 
organised.” They were attended by an increasing number of 
citizens of all mationalities. The work and its results in the 
field of attaiming literacy of the wide masses is best 
illustrated by the fact that the number of illiterate inhabitants 
of SAP Kosovo in 1981 had decreased to 18%,° a reduction of 72% 
over the 1945 figure and with a tendency towards complete 
eradication of illiteracy in the next short-term social plan. 
The illiterate inhabitants of SAP Kosovo evident in the 1981 
population census were mainly those from the more remote rural 
regions, which would indicate that this burdensome social 
inheritance 
will soon be conquered, 
7. great backwardness in the economic, cultural and educational 
°e eres has meant that SAP Kosovo has inherited a considerable 
Shortage of expext staff in all fields. Such a situation has 
* Original: Serbo—Croatian, 26 pages 
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Razprave in gradivo, Ljubljana, March 1986, No.18 
caused great difficulties in the work of the economic 
organisations, the institutions for social services (education, 
health, culture, etc.) and the organs of government, and 
therefore also in the affirmed strategy for the renewal of our 
country. So the responsible organs of the new government acted 
thoughtfully and created the necessary concepts which were 
urgently needed for the creation of expert staffing capable of 
being in the forefront of economic and social development. With 
this aim in mind, a whole network of courses were created for 
conducting general and expert education in the languages of the 
nations and nationalities, which played an important role in 
spreading education to the masses, especially in the expert 
training of workers in the fields of economics and the social 
services. Specifically, pedagogic courses for the training of 
teachers for work in elementary schools, courses for army 
officers in secondary schools, courses for teachers of literacy 
courses and for general education in which expert subjects were 
taught for tractor drivers, for agronomists, for administrators, 
health workers, disinfectors and workers in sanitary control, for 
finance and journalism, forestry workers, drivers, etc., were 
founded and run. 
The courses, and the thousands of people who completed them were, 
ef course, of great importance for the socio-economic development 
of SAP Kosovo and for the affirmation of the national languages 
in the period immediately following the National Liberation War. 
Thus, for example, the pedagogic courses in the Albanian language 
alone, in 1946, in addition to the professional improvement of 
Older teachers, trained 122 new teachers of Albanian nationality, 
with the result that it was possible to open 122 new departments 
in elementary schools in the Albanian language. 
The application of the equality of language and script in the 
courses, as a special point of education, created the basis for 
as massive as possible a training of citizens for particular 
professions and thereby for active participation in fre economic 
and social currents of the development in SAP Kosovo. 
After the creation of the revolutionary national government, when 
SAP Kosovo opened a new page in its history, a new system of 
regular schooling began to be built. 
a) Parallel to the spread of literacy amongst the population and 
the urgent education of the working people and citizens through 
various courses, there was a visible need for the organisation of 
regular schooling in the languages of all the nations and 
nationalities. The national government therefore gave special 
attention to elementary education and compulsory elementary 
education for all citizens; as to its duration, at first four 
years, then seven and then eight, was legally affirmed. With this 
aim, elementary schools were opened throughout SAP Kosovo and an 
optimal network of institutions at this level was created with a 
tendency to a continual spreading, in accordance with the social, 
economic and cultural development of SAP Kosovo in SFRY. 
The development of elementary schools after the liberation is 
characterised by a spread of the process of education to the 
equal national languages, that is, by the realisation of the 
right to education in one's own language, and by an increase in 
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Raz rave 
15 and a very fast increase in the number of 
the number of pupi the results achieved may be seen 
in order that 
  
  
SR AOC EE UN NON A UE 
1984/85. 
School Depart- Total Albanian Serbian Turkish 
Year 
ments 
Pupils 
1944/45 432 27,400 11,573 15,827 - 
1984/85 9,642 345,651 296,182 47,717 1,752 
  
In addition to the objective conditions, such a tempo of 
development was also influenced by the correct politics of the 
LCY (League of Communists of Yugoslavia) on the question of 
language and the changed attitude of the citizens towards 
schooling. All this indicates that, on the territory of SAP 
Kosovo, the educational map is being transformed more and more 
and that a high degree of the equality of language and script in 
schools is being realised. This is also reflected in the teaching 
processes, in administration and therefore in the complete work 
of the schools. 
b) Parallel to a general striving for the creation of equal 
compulsory education in the languages of the nations and 
nationalities, that is, the right to education in one's own 
language affirmed by the Constitution, the organs of government 
paid special attention to regular lower expert training. 
Because of the elmentary urgency of staffing needs of the economy 
and in social fields in SAP Kosovo, it was necessary to establish 
lower professional schools in the national languages capable of 
preparing the necessary expert workers. Until June 1946, 16 lower 
professional schools for crafts, agronomy and other interests, 
with 1,109 pupils had operated on the territory of SAP Kosovo. 
In October 1946 two more schools of agronomy were founded and 
some others were transformed into one-year professional schools 
aisle te step towards becoming secondary professional 
It is important to mention alongside these facts that in 1950, in 
addition to the one-year schools, there were 11 lower 
professional schgols, of which five worked in Albanian and six in 
Serbo-Croatian. 
c) The socio-economic development of SAP Kosovo prepared and made 
possible the great increase in the number of secondary schools 
and the pupils of all nationalities in them who attended lessons 
in their own language. Immediately after the Liberation, that is, 
in December 1944, nine secondary schools, of which 3 were 
completely and one partially in Albanian and the remainder in 
Serbo-Croatian, began the work. These were really schools of 
general education, which had 3, 884 pupils in December 1945; this 
number increased to 4,441 by June 1946. The pupils who attended 
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Razprave in gradivo, Ljubljana, March 1986, No.18 
this level of schooling were actually pupils who had earlier 
completed a particular course in the earlier period. 
It is especially important to point out that of the pupils 
attending instruction in June, 1946, 1,062 were of the Albanian 
nationality ang 3,379 of Serbian, Montenegrin and other 
nationalities, with an increasing tendency to growth in the 
following years. This, together with the number of pupils in the 
secondary professional schools, represents a definable degree of 
realised rights to education in the national languages in SAP 
Kosovo. 
Parallel to the secondary schools, as institutions of general 
education, secondary professional schools were developed. This 
can be seen from the fact that on 31 December 1945, there was 
only one professional school in the Serbo-Croatian language 
recorded, in Pristina, and it is recorded that in October 1946 
there were other professional schools working throughout the 
Province, such as the Albanian Pedagogic School, the Secondary 
Technical School with 3 departments and 117 pupils, the Trade 
Academy yith 70 pupils, and the Secondary Agronomy School with 50 
pupils.l 
A notable increase in the number of secondary professional 
schools was observed in the following years. This is confirmed by 
the fact that by 30 September 1950, 11 professional schools were 
operating, , of which one was in Albanian and ,10 in Serbo- 
Croatian, and by 9 January 1951, the total enrollment in 
secondary schools was 2,169. It is similarly necessary to note 
that, on 25 August 1952, there existed a specific network of 
secondary school education composed of schools for teachers, 
technical interests, musical education, art, economic interests, 
medicine, agronomy, etc. 
1,548 pupils were enrolled in the secondary professional schools, 
not counting the Albanian Pedagogic School, at which 60 pupils 
were of the Albanian nationality. 
On the basis of an analysis of those days of the work of 
secondary professional schools, which was made by the competent 
organs, the reason for such a state of affairs is found to be, on 
the one hand, the lack of popularisation of the professional 
schools, incorrect politics in relation to scholarships and a 
lack of knowledge of Serbo-Croatian, in which language the 
lessons were done and, on the other hand, too few pupils from all 
the nationalities, and especially the Albanian, with completed 
half-matriculation. 
Meanwhile, further intensive socio-economic development of the 
country on the basis of self-management, based on the correct 
politics of the LCY, created the conditions for the possibility 
of a greater realisation of the language and equal national 
rights in the sphere of education in SAP Kosovo, especially after 
the Brioni Plenum of the Central Committee of the League of 
Communists of Yugoslavia of July, 1966, when the unitarianist- 
bureaucratic limitations were shattered. During this period there 
was a socialisation and further democratisation of relations in 
the field of education, which were realised through the 
institutionalised forms of the liberal exchange of work on the 
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Razprave in gradivo, Ljubljana, March 1986, No.18 
basis of self-management interests and the activities of the 
self-management organs inside the educational organisations of 
associated labour themselves. 
With the introduction of new programme contents which reflected 
more the needs of associated labour, the structure of secondary 
education was significantly changed and, through this, the basic 
conditions for a more complete realisation of language and 
national equality were created. 
Institutions of secondary education were transformed into self- 
management vocationally-oriented educational organisations, 
brought together in educational centres with a common foundation 
and professional directions. Thus, in the school year 1984/85, 
there were 47 school centres of vocationally oriented 
education, 2 with a total of 2,650 departments operating, of 
which 2,050 were in Albanian, 562 in Serbo-Croatian and 18 in 
Turkish. 2 
All together, there was a total of 85,472 pupils enrolled in the 
47 school centres in 1984/85, of whom 68,538 were taught in 
Albanian, 16,543 in Serbo-Croatian and 394 in Turkish, 2 which is 
indicated by the language map of schooling in SAP Kosovo. If we 
add to this the fact that the collective pedagogic documentation 
and process of work in the schools is done in the languages of 
instruction, then we have before us a clear picture of the level 
of the achieved equality of language and script at this level of 
education. 
d) Deriving from the politics of the LCY on the question of 
language, there has recently been an intensive preparation for 
the introduction of Romany into the educational process of the 
schools in SAP Kosovo. This was concretised in the school year of 
1984/85 in that Romany was introduced as a language of 
instruction, whereby children of Romany groups ,are more 
completely guaranteed learning in their own language. 4 
e) Under the conditions of the building of socialist self- 
management socio-economic relations, university institutions have 
been founded on the territory of SAP Kosovo. These have been 
opened in Pristina for the first time in the history of this 
region: Teacher-Training Junior College (1958), the Law- 
Administration Junior College (1959) and the Faculty of Arts 
(1960). The training process was at first conducted in Serbo- 
Croatian, except for the Department of Albanian Studies, in which 
lectures on individual professional subjects were also held in 
the national language. The reason for this lay in the failure of 
the community to plan and open (junior) colleges, faculties and 
high schools also in the languages of the nationalities in the 
face of the still centralistic-statist planning of university 
education and the administrative way of locating university 
institutions. 
Meanwhile, during the more recent periods, when the process of 
the democratisation and socialisation of education has been 
intensified on the principles of socialist self-management, the 
status of the languages of the nations and nationalities in the 
teaching process and the work of the university institutions in 
SAP Kosovo has been improving. This was achieved particularly 
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after the amendments I-XIX of 1967-68 to the Constitution of SFRY 
of 1963, when the legal and other conditions were created for the 
foundation of the University of Pristina (1970). From then on, 
the regulation has been in force for colleges, high schools and 
faculties, or departments in these institutions to guarantee 
provision for teaching in the mothey, tongue, or the Albanian, 
Serbo-Croatian and Turkish languages. 5 
These qualitiative changes, which were made in relation to the 
situation of the languages and scripts of the nations and 
nationalities in the field of education after 1968, undoubtedly 
contributed to the fact that the language and national structure 
of the students improved, of which. the following comparative 
survey for the school years 1961/62 and 1984/85 speaks best. 
School Total No. Alban- Serbs Montene- Turks Muslims Roms Other 
  
  
Year of Students __ians grins 
1961/62 1,542 435 727 333 8 = = __39 
1984/85 37,594 29,659 4,338 1,053 162 1,845 50 487 
Regular 22,702 18,094 2,390 587 % 1,234 38 263 
Part-time _14,892 11,565 1,948 466 66 611 12 224 
  
On the basis of the statistical indicators presented above, it 
can be seen that the language or national makeup of the students 
who study at the University of Kosovo has been gradually getting 
closer, year by year, to the language and population structure of 
SAP Kosovo, which demonstrates the high degree of linguistic and 
national equality in the field of university education. 
The rapid development of education, science and culture in SAP 
Kosovo has created a basis on which publishing activities could 
be equally developed in the languages of the nations and 
nationalities. In order that the results achieved may be seen 
more clearly, at least in terms of the basic indicators, it is 
necessary to present the developments in this field from the 
liberation until today. 
1. A chronological survey of the bibliography of school books in 
SAP Kosovo shows that such a publishing activity began in 1945, 
when the first primer was published in the Albanian language, in 
20,000 gopies. By the end of 1984, 3,084 titles in 30,947,200 
copies? had been published and the publishing plan for 1985 was 
under preparation. 
The bibiliography of school books shows that, both in quantity 
and in quality, publishing for the needs of schools has improved 
considerably. 
a) Between 1945 and 1961, the publishing organisations of SAP 
Kosovo published 364 titles, 355 of which were in the Albanian 
language and 9 in Serbo-Croatian, a total of 3,252,700 copies. 
b) From 1962 to 1969, the publishing needs of schools in SAP 
Kosovo were met by a department of the Institute for the 
Publication of Textbooks and Teaching Materials of SR Serbia in 
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Razprave in gradivo, Ljubljana, March 1986, No.18 
PriStina. In this period, they published 584 titles, of which 552 
were in Albanian, 29 were in Serbo-Croatian an 3 in Turkish, 
making a total of 5,942, 200 copies. 
c) In the period from 1970 to 1985, school literature for the 
needs of the Province was published by the newly formed Institute 
for the Publication of Textbooks and Teaching Materials of SAP 
Kosovo as a specialised organisation. In this period, the 
institute published 2,136 titles, of which 1960 were in Albanian, 
160 in Serbo-Croatian and 16 in Turkish. In 1984 alone, the 
Institute of the Province published 198 titles, of which 172 were 
in Albanian, with 62 being translated into Serbo-Croatian, 22 
were in Serbo-Croatian and 3 in Turkish, making a total of 
1,909,700 copies. 
It should be emphasised that textbooks published by the Institute 
for publishing Textbooks and Teaching Materials of SR Serbia and 
other organisations in the Serbo-Croatian area are used for the 
remainder of the teaching needs in Serbo-Croatian, and 
schoolbooks published in the Turkish language in SR Macedgpia and 
in the Republic of Turkey, for teaching needs in Turkish. 
Recently the publication of books in the Romany language have 
also been under preparation. 
Other organisations are also involved in publishing activities in 
the languages of the nations and nationalities of SAP Kosovo. 
Specifically, the Organisation of Associated Labour (OAL) 
Rilindja has published 3,200 titles up to 1985 in the Albanian 
language; the OAL Jedinstvo has published 339 titles in Serbo- 
Croatian; and the OAL TAN 51 titles in Turkish. The realisation 
of the plan for 1985 is in progress. 
In addition to the publishing activity intended for schools, the 
above organisations of associated labour also prepare and publish 
scientific books and literature in all three languages. Thus, in 
addition to the works of Albanian authors, the OAL Rilindja has 
also presented 972 classical and contemporary works of authors of 
the nations and nationalities of Yugoslavia and 700 titles of 
world literature, in the Albanian language. OAL Jedinstvo has 
published 34 titles of Albanian and 6 titles of Turkish authors 
in Serbo-Croatian, in addition to the work of Serbian, 
Montenegrin and other authors. TAN, Besides authors of Turkish 
nationality, has also published 7 Albanian and 5 Serbian authors 
in the Turkish language. 
A good deal of material has been bought from Turkey through 
Rilind jg and Tana for the needs of the Turkish nationality in SAP 
Kosovo.°° 
The cooperation and contribution of the publishing organisations 
of SAP Kosovo, SR Serbia and SR Macedonia has been very important 
in the affirmation of the creativity of all the nationalities and 
in creating the basic conditions for the consistent use of the 
Albanian, Serbo-Croatian and Turkish languages in the teaching 
processes and in the fields of education, science and culture 
generally. In this way, the value of spiritual communication in 
the inter-nationality cultures is enhanced, which contributes to 
mutual understanding, consideration and togetherness. 
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Razprave in gradivo, Ljubljana, March 1986, No.18 
The data presented, although imperfect, since new titles are 
published each day, clearly show the absolute and relative 
progress in the realisation of the equality of the national 
languages and scripts in the sphere of publishing since the 
liberation of SAP Kosovo, from its publication of the primer down 
to the present, when a great number of textbooks and other 
literature are being published in the Albanian, Serbo-Croatian 
and Turkish languages. 
Notes 
1.K@éshilli popullor i Krahinés Autonome t®& Kosové-Metohis@, 1943- 
53 - Materiale themelore nga sesionet, Prishtin#, 1955, p. 31. 
2. Ibid., p.29. 
3. The decision on opening schools in the Turkish language was 
taken by the National Council of 25 March 1951. (See also note 1, 
p. 62). 
4. Rilindja, 2.9.85, p.5 
5. See note l, p. 38 
6. EKS: Popullsia ekonomike, shtpiake dhe banesat. Té dhénat 
sipas komunave. Rezultatet pérfundimtare. Buletini 17. Prishtink, 
1982, p.21. 
7. See under note l, pp. 62, 101-102, 136, 174, 175, 203, 287, 
309, 355, 420, etc., in which the work of all courses is widely 
discussed. 
8. See also: Fatmir Fehmiu, “Rregullimi kushtetues-jurikik i té 
drejtés pér arsim dhe realizimi i saj né KSA té Kosovés," 
Pérparimi, No. 5, Prishtiné&é, 1982, pp. 630-632. 
9.Kosovi i Metohija 1943-1963, Prosveta i Skolstvo, Priétina, 
1963. 
10. Pokrajinski SIZ obrazovanja i vaspitanja: Izvestaj o upisu 
uGenika i studenata na poëetku Skolske 1984/85. godine u SAP 
Kosovu, Pristina, November 1984, pp. 6-7. 
11. Op.cit., under note 1, p. 102. 
12. Ibid., pp. 136-137 
13. Ibid., p. 511 
14. Ibid., pp. 28 and 103 
15. Ibid., p. 103 
16. Ibid., p. 62 
17. Ibid., p. 136 
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18. Ibid., p. 511 
19. Ibid., p. 528 
20. Ibid., p. 121 
21. op.cit. under note 33, p. 35. 
22. Ibid., pp. 32-33 
23. Ibid., pp. 25-29 
24. Compare: a)Predsedniétvo PKSK Kosova: Ostvarivanje politike 
nacionalne ravnopravnosti naroda i narodnosti u oblasti jezika i 
pisama i dalji zadaci Saveza komunista, Pristina, May, 1985; b) 
List Rilindija, 2.9.85, p. 5. 
25.Constitutional Law of SAPK,"SI.list SAPK",No. 6/69, Art. 71. 
26. PSZ: XI Konferencija SK Kosova, Privredni i drustveni razvoj 
SAPK 1947-1972, Pristina, p.126. 
27. PSZ: “Visoke i viSe Skole u SAPK, Studenti skolske 1984/85," 
Bilten 59, Pristina, p. 1l. 
28. Compare: a) Bibliografia e librit shkollor né Kosove, 
Prishtiné, 1985, pp. 5-258; b) "Libri skollor,” Buletin i Entit 
t® Teksteve dhe Mjetéve Mésimore t@& KSAK, 1. Prishtiné, 1984, p. 
14. 
29. op.cit. under note 24 (a), pp. 28-29. 
30. Ibid., pp.29-30. 
216